Obama to meet with Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi on visits to China, India and France

Ruchi Vaishnav

4 months ago

U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Former president Barack Obama has embarked on a three-nation tour with stops in China, India and France, during which he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his office announced Tuesday.

The tour comes just two weeks after President Donald Trump held a summit with Xi in Beijing and days after Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, a White House adviser, participated in a global economic summit in Hyderabad, India.

Obama was scheduled to open his trip Tuesday in Shanghai, where he will hold private meetings and speak at a trade summit. On Wednesday, he will participate in an education summit in Beijing and meet with Xi.

In a news release, Obama’s office said the former president had “forged a close and cooperative partnership with President Xi on issues ranging from growing the global economy to combating climate change, and he looks forward to catching up with his former counterpart.”

In November 2014, Obama and Xi announced a climate agreement, which was a precursor to the Paris climate accord signed by nearly all the nations in the world. Trump has announced his administration’s intent to withdrawn the United States from that agreement at the earliest opportunity in 2020, a move Obama has publicly criticized.

In New Dehli on Thursday, Obama is scheduled to speak at the HT Media Leadership Summit and meet with Modi. On Friday, Obama will hold a town-hall-style event for the Obama Foundation with an estimated 280 young leaders from across India, his office said.

“The Town Hall will expand the conversation about what it means to be an active citizen and to promote positive change,” Obama’s office said.

In Paris on Friday and Saturday, Obama will speak at the introductory session of the Les Napoleons Summit and hold private meetings.